Machine for performing operations on the ends of can-bodies.



" L. O. SHARP. MACHINE FOR PERFORMING OPERATIONS ON THE ENDS OF (:ANBODIES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 18, 1909. RENEWED DEC. 7, 1912.

1,104,559. Patented July 2-1, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I %Mmm' 2%. 4

ztM

L. C. SHARP.

MACHINE FOR PERFORMING OPERATIONS ON THE ENDS OF CAN BODIES.

APBLIOATION FILED JUNE18, 190 RENEWED DBO. 7, 1912.

1, Patented July 21, 191% Q SEEETESHBET 2;.

y g avwenifoz War??? I g 7 attovmug L. C. SHARP.

MACHINE FOR PERFORMING OPERATIONS ON THE ENDS or CAN BODIES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1909. RENEWED DBO. 7. 1912.

1,104,559, Patented July 21, 1914.

Q SHEETE$HEET 3.

anti-Ian... mun-n.-

Wil'wwwo,

L. G. SHARP.

MACHINE FOR PERFORMING OPERATIONS ON THE ENDS 0F CAN BODIES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 18, 1909. RENEWED DEC. 7, 1912.

1,104,559. Patented July 21, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

8! nvenlioz w gammm A), WI. G1. 7% w /@MM STATES PATENT OFFlOE.

LEE C. SHARP, 0F PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR '10 AMERICAN CANCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR PERFORMING OPERATIONS ONTHE ENDS OF CAN-BODIES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21,1914.

Application filed June 18, 1909, Serial No. 502,861. Renewed December 7,1912. Serial No. 736,541.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, LEE C. SHARP, ofPlattsmouth, count-y of Cass, State of Nebraska, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Machines for Performing Operations on theEnds of Can- Bodies, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactspecification, such as Wlll enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present application embodies a refinement of the mechanism disclosedin my copending application, Serial No. 455,950, filed October 3, 1908.

1n the embodiment here shown, the machine is designed to flangeoutwardly the ends of can bodies preparatory to the application of thehead and the rolling of a seam by which to join the head to the bodywithout solder." The invention, however, is by no means limited by thisspecific work, since by obvious modifications in the form of the dies itmay be adapted to numerous other operations on or at the ends of the canbody. 7

One of the leading features of m invention resides in a former head oreads which is furnished with a die arranged to engage the end of the canbody and force its edge outward to form the flange, said head having alimiting or gage wall which determines the width of the flange andinsures its uniformity. Preferably, the head or heads rotate and arefurnished with curved or arc-shaped guides, which not onlycontrol'automatically the engagement and disengagement of the bodieswith and from the heads, but embody shoulders acting as a means by whichthe flanges when formed are engaged and the cans stripped from the dies.

My invention involves numerous other features of importance, all ofwhichwill be set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in theclaims,

Reference is now. had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, asan exam ple, the preferred embodiment of my invention when the same isadapted for Hanging can bodies.

In said drawings,-Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Fig. 2is a plan View of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the formerheads showing the dies, limiting and holder walls and illustrating thecan bodies by broken lines; Fig. 4; is an enlarged fragmentary elevationshowing the can bodies in section, one of the former heads and theadjacent chutes and illustrating the automatic movement of the bodiesthrough the machine; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sect-ion of one of the formerheads on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4:; Fig. 6 is a still further enlargementillustrating the die and the limiting wall of the former head; Fig. 7 isa detailed section showing possible modification by which the die isspring-sustained on the former head; and'Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectionthrough one of the former heads, the spindle thereof and its bearings,and illustrating the driving sprocket and the cam and roller by whichthe former head and die are periodically reciprocated.

The machine is provided with a frame which, as shown, has legs 10 and atable 11, sustained thereby. The table 11 (see Fig. 2) is relativelynarrow for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. It is obvious,however, that this formation of the frame is not essential to myinvention. On the table are mounted two pairs of pedestal bearings 12which are designed to carry the rotating spindles to be hereinafterdescribed. Said pairs of pedestals are designed to be adjusted towardandfrom each other on the table to accommodate different forms and.

shafts or spindles 17 in such a manner that said spindles or shafts arefree to both rotate and reciprocate. Keyed, or otherwise fastened tosaid shafts 17, are sprocket wheels. 18 over which run chains 19. Theruns of'the chains are at opposite sides of the narrow table 11 and runover sprocket wheels 20 on a driveshaft 21; The drive shaft 21 iscarried horizontally in the frame below the table and one or both of.the sprocket wheels 20 are designed to be adjusted along the shaft tofollow the adjustment of the pedestals. The shaft 21 is furnished with aband pulley 22 or other means bywhich it may be rotated rapidly. In thismanner the shafts 17 are rotated rapidly and in exact unison with eachother. v 1

The, shafts 17 carry fixedly, either. as

parts of the sprocket wheels 18 or. otherwise, hubs or collars 23andthese mount, each of them, a roller 24. Said'rollers move orbitallyaround the shaft with the sprocket Wheels and are designed to engagecams 25 formed on the faces of disks 26 against .which said rollers run.The disks 26 are fixedly mounted at the sides of the bearings 16 and arepreferably furnished with devices ofany suitable nature by which their Pon around the axis of the shaft 17 may be adjusted. o I

27 indicates, expansive springs which are coiled around the projectingends of the shafts 17 beyond the bearings 16 and engage collars 28 atthe extremities of said projecting ends, tending to move the shafts 17outward away from each other.

. Ifdesired, anti-friction collars or other similar devices 29 may befitted loosely on the shafts. 17 and engage with the bearings 16. Inthis manner the rollers '24 are held yieldingly in contact with thetrack disks 26 and as the {shafts 17' rotate'the rollers periodicallyengage the cams and the shafts are given simultaneous and instantaneousreciprocation inward toward each other and 'thence outward away fromeach The abovementionedformer heads 30 are carriedon the inner oropposing ends of the shafts 17, and as bestshown in Figs. 3, 4

and 5 are circularin forna, adapt ed to circular cans and rovided withan" annular flange 30 constituting the limiting wall.

v The heads 30 are further provided with areshaped, preferablysemi-circular walls '30, forming extensions of the flanges 30* andterminating in inwardly disposed flanges 30 constitutmg the strippingwalls or flanges. Located against the inner faces of the former headsand within the flanges 30 are-dies 31. These are'circula'r for circularcans and preferably have their Cope-rating edges31 tapered inwardly, thewider di-' mension of said edges" carrying an outward flange or wall 31against whlch'the flange is formed. The precise shape of the edges'31'is not however material and largely depends upon the nature of thew'orloto be performed. Thus, in Fig. 6 it"is's'hown that flange 31 ispractically cylindri'c, the flanging operation being performed mainly bythe lip or' wall 31 'before-described: The

7 parts 30 and 31 arehere shown'as cylindric.

This, however,' is a more example of the numerous possibleconstructions; and the shape of the parts in practice is varied widelyto accommodate square and other forms of cans and other .modificationsin the character of the'work performed bythe machine. When the canbodyis positioned between the former heads, as indicated by the broken linesin Fig. 3, it rests tom 0- rarily on the flanges 30. which serve to]l18- to stri m the tan body with respeet'to "thcqdiesl 31. At thisinstant the former heads move forward ,simultaneously "and the "edges--'of the ca'n body engage the working edges 31 of the dies, whereuponsaidedges are...

swaged or forced outwardagain st the walls 31 which continue theswagingaction and form the flanges which are indicated b the brokenlines in Fig. This 'swagingor flanging operation continues until theouter" edges of the flanges engage the limiting Walls '30; These wallsserv two distinct and important functions. First, they limit or arrestthe flanging operation, and second, they present a true circular walltothe round flange, giving saidflange. a corresponding shape and'causingit to be -true and perfect in every particular. -When these operationshave been completed, and

they are effected by an instantaneous action, the former heads retractand thereupon the flanges 30 and walls 30" engage and carry the flangedcan body until-the same is discharged from the former heads, as will-behereinafter described. Fig. 7 shows that in some cases the die 31instead of beingrig- .idly fastened to the former head maybe looselyarranged and furnishedwith a-stud 31 movablein the shaft 17andpressedoutward by a s rmg 33 alsofitted-in said cav-.

ity. With t is construction the die is projected toward the can bodyinadvance; of

stick to one of the dies as they separate, the flange 30 of the otherdie willengagethe flange of the can and pull the'can off of the firstnamed die. v 11 The bearings 15 carry on their flathtop surfacesupwardly and outwardly extend- ,ing supporting arms 34 which areparallel with each other and sustain angle strips 35 also parallel andconstituting a guideway on which the can bodies are held and along whichthey roll outward toward the former heads as shown in Fig. 4. Thebearings 15 also carry upwardly and inwardly projecting arms 36 whichsustain guide strips 37 extending longitudinally of the iron angles 35but above the same so as to bear on or directly over the can bodies atthe lower part of the chute to prevent the can bodies from beingdisplaced upwardly. The guide strips 37 are preferably flexible-so thatthey maygive to allow slight movement of the cans upward in the c utebut prevent any rom the dies at the time that-the material displacementin that direction. As shown in Fig. 4-, the supply chute leads down tothe space between the former heads, and below this space and leadingfrom the machine at the side opposite that on which the chute 35 islocated are similar, angle strips 38 which constitute the dischargechute receiving the flanged can bodies as they disengage from the formerheads. The before described semi-circular wall 30 in addition to thefunctions previously described serves the further function ofintroducing a can body intoposition between the lormer heads, holdingback the supply in the chute 35 and discharging the can bodies into thechute 38 when the flanges have been formed. Referring to Fig.4, it willbe seen that the can body has been entered into position between theformer heads and is resting on the wall 30. It will also be seen thatsaid wall rotating with the former head engages with the supply of canbodies in the chute 34 and will continue so engaged for J; revolution ofthe former head holding back the supply during this time. At this periodthe flanges are formed by the operations before described, and theformer heads separate so that as the wall or walls 30 reach a positionupward from that shown in Fig. 4 the can will be deprived of its supportand will fall from the walls 30* into the discharge chute 38. At thistime the supply of cans in chute 35 will be deprived of their supportand will advance downward, the lowermost can entering the space betweenthe former heads and being there arrested by the walls 30. NVhen thistakes place the continued rotation of the former heads brings the walls50 back to the position shown in Fig. 4 and the above-describedoperation is repeated. It will thus appear that the can bodies areautomatically ontereu into engagement with the former heads anddischarged therefrom, and that this important operation is performedwithout special feeding devices and by mere rotation of the former headswhich in addition to this function is performing other and equallyimportant functions.

From the aforegoing it will be perceived that my invention performs adiflicult operation by a most simple mechanism which is automatic inevery respect and which by reason of its simplicity may be driven atvery high speed, thus making the machine one of high capacity.

It will further be seen that the principles herein set forth are by nmeans limited to the Hanging of cans, but that by simple modificationsthe machine may be adapted to various other operations, such, forinstance, as fastening the heads to the previously flanged can bodies.Further, it. is not esscntial that two similar former heads be employedin opposition to each other as shown, since one of such heads might beadapted to flange and the other to perform some other operation or itmight be a blank to perform no operation.

It will also be seen that the machine may be easily adapted to varioussizes of cans by adjusting the bearings of the spindles, and furtherthat as these are adjusted the parts of the chute follow the adjustmentsince they are attached to the bearings and movetherewith.

I Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a machine for forming flanges on can bodies, the combination of aninclined chute, a yielding guide finger over the chute,

'said chute and guide finger adapted to carry a row of cans, areciprocating die and means for allowing the can bodies successively toengage the die, said die fitting within the end of .the can body andsimultaneously engaging its entire circumference and acting to form acontinuous flange around the whole circumference of the can body at thesame time by the movement of the die in the direction of the axis of thecan.

2. In a machine for making cans, the combination of a frame having atable and supports therefor with a reciprocating Hanging die having asurrounding limiting wall for the flange to abut against, a rotatingshaft carrying it, a sprocket wheel attached to said shaft, a driveshaft in the frame below the table, a sprocket wheel attached theretoand a chain run over said sprockets and having its runs at oppositesides of the table, said die fitting within the end of the can body andsimultaneously engaging its entirecircumference and acting to form a cont-inuous flange around the whole circumference of the can body at thesame time by the movement of the die in the direction of the axis of thecan.

3. In a can-body fianging machine, the combination of a pair of opposingHanging heads, each head having a portion of its inner side extended asubstantial distance to form a segmental rest to receive and sup-- portthe can-body, and each head having also in its inner face an annulargroove with a tapering port-ion rigid with the head and projecting fromthe inner wall of said groove, said tapering portion being adapted toenter the open end of the can-body and the groove being adapted to formthe flange on said end, and means for moving the heads toward and fromeach other.

4-. In a can-body flanging machine, the combination of a pair ofopposing flanging heads, each head having a portion of its inner sideextended a substantial distance to form a segmental rest to receive andsupport the can-body, and each head having also in its inner face anannular groove with a tapering portion rigidwith the head and projectingfrom the inner wall of said groove, said tapering portion being adaptedto enter the open end of the can-body, and the groove being adapted toform the flange on said end, means for delivering the can to the heads;means for revolving said heads, and means called into action bythe'revolution of the heads for forcing them toward and from each other.

5. In a can-body flanging machine, means for extracting the flanged bodyfrom the groove in which the flange is. formed, in-

eluding reciprocating flanging heads oarrycopies of this patent mayhe'obtained for ing semi-circular rests, a shoulder formed in twosubscribing witnesses.

a LEE 0. SHARP.

Witnesses: Boy GfKRA rz,

five cents each, by addressing the '(tomminioner 012mm, I walhington,Ill-G." I t r.

